SNOHOMISH COUNTY, Wash. — A Snohomish County woman has been arrested in a cold case involving the death of a newborn baby found abandoned at an Arizona airport.
The 51-year-old woman is now in custody at the Snohomish County Jail. She is accused of leaving the newborn baby girl dead and wrapped in a hotel bag in a woman's restroom garbage at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport.
“The evidence at the scene indicated that the birth likely did not occur at the airport,” Phoenix police Lt. James Hester said at a news conference Tuesday. “The baby was born alive and then suffocated. The medical examiner ruled the death a homicide and the manner of death being suffocation.”
The investigation eventually went cold after the baby was found on Oct. 10, 2005. In November 2021, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Phoenix police used a technique called investigative genetic genealogy to help identify "a potential maternal match for the newborn victim."
In January 2022, investigators traveled to Washington state to execute a search warrant and interview the suspect. During the interview, investigators said they confirmed the suspect was the mother of the child.
After an extensive investigation, a Maricopa County grand jury issued an arrest warrant for the suspect for the first-degree murder of the child.
The Snohomish County Sheriff's Office (SCSO) said it was contacted in December 2023 by the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office to locate the suspect. She was found to be residing in Arlington and was taken into custody without incident, SCSO said. Residents in her Arlington neighborhood declined to comment.
The suspect is currently being held in Snohomish County Jail and is awaiting extradition to Phoenix to face felony charges. KING 5 is not naming the suspect as she has not been formally charged.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
Download our free KING 5 app to stay up-to-date on news stories from across western Washington.